Mobile reel support unit

ABSTRACT

A reel support unit designed to be laterally adjustable for receiving and securely holding a single or multiple number of reels of the same or varying width from which may be dispensed materials packaged in reel form, such as wire, chain, fabric, plastic, or any other material so packaged. The unit is mounted on swivel type casters for ease of movement from one location to another without a necessity for removing the reels therefrom, and to further facilitate manipulation during movement the unit is equipped with appropriate handles. The casters are of the brakelock type, enabling the unit to be secured in place once it is positioned for use, thereby preventing inadvertent or undesirable displacement of the unit during use. As a further design feature the unit is constructed so as to permit ease of disassembly for purposes of portability or storage and mounting of reels thereon.

United States Patent 1 Bailey Dec. 17, 1974 MOBILE REEL SUPPORT UNIT [76] Inventor: Richard L. Bailey, RD. No. 3,

Spring Grove, Pa. 17362 [22] Filed: Nov. 30, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 420,395

3,134,555 5/1964 Baker 242/865 R Primary Examiner-John W. Huckert Assistant Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy Attorney, Agent, or Firm-C. Hercus Just; Samuel M. Learned, Jr.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A reel support unit designed to be laterally adjustable for receiving and securely holding a single or multiple number of reels of the same or varying width from which may be dispensed materials packaged in reel form, such as wire, chain, fabric, plastic, or any other material so packaged. The unit is mounted on swivel type casters for ease of movement from one location to another without a necessity for removing the reels therefrom, and to further facilitate manipulation during movement the unit is equipped with appropriate handles. The casters are of the brake-lock type, en abling the unit to be secured in place once it is positioned for use, thereby preventing inadvertent or undesirable displacement of the unit during use. As a further design feature the unit is constructed so as to permit ease of disassembly for purposes of portability or storage and mounting of reels thereon.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The reel support unit herein disclosed consists of a pair of upright standards slidably assembled upon-a horizontal axle member and rigidly affixed in adjusted operative position thereto by respective set screw locking means.

Various types of support units for reels have long been known, exemplified for example, by those such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 272,227 to Foreman, dated Feb. 13, 1883; in U.S. Pat. No. 892,083 to Rawlinson, dated June 30, 1908; in U.S. Pat. No. 1,280,083, dated Oct. 1, 1918; in U.S. Pat. No. 1,408,675 to Wimberg, dated Mar. 7, 1922; in U.S. Pat. No. 1,671,736 to Meeker, dated May 29, 1928; in U.S. Pat. No. 1,764,413 to Nielsen, dated June 17, 1930; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,424,474 to Karnow et al., dated Jan. 28, 1969. The spectrum of use for the previously cited support unit patents ranges from a milk jar stand as taught in Tate, to a vise stand as taught in Wimberg, to an aircraft ejection seat dolly as taught in Kamow et al. In each devise, although some of the mechanical features of design and construction disclosed therein may be similar to each other, the particular support stand developments were invented to meet a specific need or applicationThe present invention has also been designed for particular purposes.

Modern packaging methods in many areas of manufacture rely heavily upon spooling various intermediary products on reels, such as wire, chain, fabric and plastic materials. The materials so packaged are, in many subsequent applications, employed as component parts in the fabrication or manufacture of other products and equipment. The present invention comprises a device which is designed for use in such subsequent assembly operations and to provide for ease of handling and dispensing where reel-packaged materials are used to form component parts of other manufactured products.

Permanent reel support units are frequently incorporated as component assemblies on various types of manufacturing machines and equipment which are designed for high-speed long-run production operations. However, in the so called custom, job shop," or pilot" manufacturing operations, where reelpackaged materials are often required, but under limited or moderate production requirements, it has heretofore generally been neither feasible or economical to do anything other than construct a makeshift reel support stand to meet temporary production demands. The present invention is designed specifically to be employed as a more satisfactory and economical alternative to makeshift reel support stands in situations where reel packaged materials are reoccuringly required in different and limited or moderate production circumstances. The present invention fulfills the need for limited or moderate production reeled material dispensing by providing a design which is functional and uncomplicated, permits a reasonable latitude of adjustment to accommodate reel-packaged materials of differing sizes, incorporates swivel brake-lock type casters which facilitates movement of the unit when and as required and prevents inadvertent or undesirable displacement of the unit once it is positioned for use, and enables easy disassembly of the unit for purposes of relocation or storage when not in use as well as mounting and dismounting reels relative to the axle therefor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a mobile reel support unit which is a functional and economical alternative to makeshift or jerry-rigged reel stands temporarily constructed for the purpose of dispensing reeled materials such as wire, chain, fabric, plastic, or any other materials so packaged and in which the axle support for the reels also comprises the connecting means for a pair of similar upright supporting standards.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reel support unit which may be laterally adjusted to accommodate a wide range of reel packaged materials of varying sizes.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a reel support unit which can be readily moved from one location to another, and is rigid in structure when assembled, but, however, may be easily disassembled for portability or storage and be just as easily reassembled for use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reel support of the foregoing type which is fabricated from readily available, standard types of material capable of inexpensive and easy assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the reel support unit embodying the principles of the present invention, showing also in phantom an array of reels assembled thereon.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the reel support unit with the axle being foreshortened to better accommodate the view to the sheet.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged end elevation of an upright standard per se such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of an upright standard per se.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention is shown which comprises a reel support unit 10 having a frame consisting of a pair of upright standards 12 each composed of two vertically disposed stanchions 14 connected by a horizontal member to form a U-shaped base portion for the support units 10. The pair of standards 12 are provided with rugged support sleeves 18 which slidably receive a connecting axle member 20 and are held securely in operative position thereon by thumb screws 22 which rigidly connect said pair of standards 12 to axle member 20. The sleeves 18 are suitably and integrally connected to horizontal members 16 such as by welding, or otherwise.

Also referring to FIG. 1, to explain the details of adjustment and use of the present invention. Longitudinal location of said standards 12 along axle member 20 is the only adjustment required, and is accomplished by loosening one of said thumb screws 22, removing the respective standard 12 from said connecting axle member 20, placing the desired number of reels of reelpackaged material to be dispensed upon said axle 20, slidably reassembling the removed standard 12 upon said connecting axle member 20 and advancing said standard 12 along said axle 20 to the desired lateral dimension; that is, to contain said reels 24' in operable material-dispensing lateral relation one to the other; and then tightening said thumb screws 22, thereby having adjusted said unit to accommodate the number and width of reeis 24 assembled thereon for a desired dispensing function. Each standard 12 also includes a handle 26 which is connected to and extends upward from each support sleeve 18, to permit ready manipulation of each standard 12 as well as unit 10.

If not already in position for use, an operator may grasp said unit 10 by either U-shaped handle 26 on standards 12 and rollably move unit 10 by means of caster assemblies 28 provided on the lower ends of stanchions 14, to wherever said unit 10 is to be used. Once in position for use said unit 10 may be locked in place by means of caster brake levers 30 which are of standard commercial type. Once adjusted, and locked in place as described, said unit 10 is set for use in dispensing the reeled material contained thereon. The configuration of said upright standards 12, as shown in FIG. 1, in relative lateral relation to said reels 24, illustrates the adjustment described. Dispensing is achieved by manually or mechanically pulling the reeled material from said reels 24 which are held in dispensing position by said reel support unit 10.

Disassembly of said unit 10 for storage or other purposes is simply accomplished by loosening both thumb screws 22, slidably removing said standards 12 and any reels 24 from said connecting axle 20, and placing the disassembled unit 10 in its reduced three-member form in a convenient location. Reassembly of said unit 10 for use is accomplished in the reverse manner of disassembly as described for storage or other purposes.

The unit 10 as disclosed in FIG. 1 preferably is constructed of metal, but any suitable material may be employed. For relatively light-weight reels, plastics or a combination of plastics and metal may be used.

In FIG. 2 a foreshortened enlarged side elevation of said unit 10 is seen. Shown therein are the component elements earlier described in addition to thumb screw mounting nut assemblies 32.

The enlarged end view of an upright standard 12 which is depicted in FIG. 3 shows details of construction of said upright standard 12 as seen in FIG. 1. The enlarged side view of an upright standard 12 which is depicted in FIG. 4 shows details of construction of said upright standard 12 in a different manner from that shown in FIG. 3.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in its preferred embodiment, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways falling within the scope of the invention as illustrated and described.

I claim: 7

l. A mobile reel support unit designed to accommodate a plurality of reels in an elevated horizontal configuration so that materials packaged upon said reels may be manually or mechanically dispensed therefrom, said support unit comprising in combination, a longitudinal axle member of uniform geometrical crosssectional configuration having opposite end portions slidably assembled within an upright standard member at either end thereof, said standard members being similar and U-shaped and the legs thereof extending downwardly to form vertically extending support members, a horizontal sleeve rigidly connected to the upper horizontal portions of said U-shaped supports and extending in opposite directions therefrom transversely to the planes thereof, said sleeves having a cross-sectional shape closely complementary to that of said axle member and slidably adjustably receiving end portions of said axle member, a caster assembly attached to the lower end of each of said support members of said standard members, said sleeves of said standard members each having a thumb screw to connectably engage said axle member to position said standard member at desired positions upon said axle member, each of said standard members further having a U-shaped handle assembly connected to and extending upwardly from the upper portions thereof to facilitate movement of said support unit, said thumb screws extending upwardly between the legs of said U-shaped handles to prevent accidentally loosening the screws.

2. A reel support unit according to claim 1 in which said horizontal sleeves each have a mounting nut fixed thereto and threadably receiving said thumb screws. 

1. A mobile reel support unit designed to accommodate a plurality of reels in an elevated horizontal configuration so that materials packaged upon said reels may be manually or mechanically dispensed therefrom, said support unit comprising in combination, a longitudinal axle member of uniform geometrical cross-sectional configuration having opposite end portions slidably assembled within an upright standard member at either end thereof, said standard members being similar and U-shaped and the legs thereof extending downwardly to form vertically extending support members, a horizontal sleeve rigidly connected to the upper horizontal portions of said U-shaped supports and extending in opposite directions therefrom transversely to the planes thereof, said sleeves having a cross-sectional shape closely complementary to that of said axle member and slidably adjustably receiving end portions of said axle member, a caster assembly attached to the lower end of each of said support members of said standard members, said sleeves of said standard members each having a thumb screw to connectably engage said axle member to position said standard member at desired positions upon said axle member, each of said standard members further having a U-shaped handle assembly connected to and extEnding upwardly from the upper portions thereof to facilitate movement of said support unit, said thumb screws extending upwardly between the legs of said U-shaped handles to prevent accidentally loosening the screws.
 2. A reel support unit according to claim 1 in which said horizontal sleeves each have a mounting nut fixed thereto and threadably receiving said thumb screws. 